


Even Playing Field

by Ewiger_Schlaf



Series: d e v i l [2]
Category: Tales of Crestoria
Genre: Gen, Leon Assid and Forte show up but this fic isnt about them rn so no character tags, Mentions of Human Trafficking (Same level of source material), Wishes of Murder, if you could handle chapter 1 of crestoria you can handle this its not as bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:35:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29068905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ewiger_Schlaf/pseuds/Ewiger_Schlaf
Summary: There's a little town in which a man runs a business. A shady business, but a business nonetheless. And he might have made... far too many enemies with that little business, no matter how underground he wanted to make it.
Series: d e v i l [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044450
Kudos: 1





	Even Playing Field

( _Hey, Leon…_ )

( _Was it really as bad as you thought?_ ).

Leon sighs, staring at the blood on the floor (that was really like a river) and the body left in its wake.

(She really was a nice person, she didn't deserve this.)

"Worse."

( _Worse!? Oh man…_ )

Not only did Aegis dig his own grave, he dragged almost everyone down with him and fled.

And Leon hoped it wouldn't come down to this, but he needed to set things right.

( _Say, what's going to happen now?_ )

"I'll find a way to make you human."

( _Is that really what's important right now?_ )

"So I can have peace of mind? Of course it is."

( _No I mean…_ )

( _Shouldn't you help him? That's what I would do. And that's what I want you to do._ )

Help Aegis?

"Yo."

"So we meet again, Leon."

Leon turns to see the face of the twins he never bothered to learn the difference between.

_Know you don't have to be a stranger._

Perhaps, for Stahn, he would work with someone.

**< 3**

"Kanata."

 _Five more minutes,_ he thinks, tossing and turning.

" _Kanata!_ "

His eyes flutter open, and it's Misella… 

Why was Misella in his room? 

"Misella?" 

There had to be something wrong. But she turns her back to him, acting as if its a normal occurrence to be in his room (its not), acting as if he just woke up and found her (Cody forbade them from meeting in private), and didn't just sternly say his name (because he wanted the world to see their beautiful love.)

"Come on, Misella, tell me! You know you aren't supposed to be here," he says calmly after she still stays silent.

"Well it's just…" She turns around, making eye contact with Kanata and failing once he finds her eyes. "I had permission…"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?"

(Kanata, read between the lines.)

"Kanata, it's just…"

He smiles, a simple smile, completely ignoring all of Misella's feelings.

"I want to be with you forever!"

"You know that isn't possible. One day you'll find a home, and we won't be together like this, but we'll still be friends!"

Oh you fucking idiot.

**< 3**

Cody sits at a table, his cronies faceless (did they matter?) and chattering (about trivial things) about money.

"How much for the girl? How rich are we?"

"She's worth a pretty penny I'd say, has to be."

"Oh yeah definitely with that face."

Their chattering meant nothing to him. There was someone at the door, someone who shouldn't belong. Cody was just waiting.

Waiting.

For them to reveal who they truly were, and how they got by without the guards murdering them.

"Boss?"

"Open the door."

"Sure, Boss, anything for you." And his faceless crony opens the door and reveals the man whose silence has been brought.

"No wonder no one alerted me," Cody says to Cress, whose face tells a story of betrayal. "You're supposed to stay silent in my affairs, unless you wish to change up our agreement?"

("Teach Kanata not to be fucking useless and perhaps I'll find you a beautiful woman you can own."

"I do not wish for that. I'll teach your son for anything else."

"How could you turn down the love of a sweet woman?"

"Master Cody, money is enough, do not meddle in my love life."

"Then how about this? Teach Kanata and I'll make sure Master Mibaru is safe.")

"There's trouble," Cress says simply.

"And you hesitated at the door?"

Cody locks eyes with Cress, all of his faceless cronies fading into nothingness. It was him and Cress. Cress and him. Nothing else, nothing more.

"Because…"

_Say it._

"You…"

He gets up from the head of the table.

"Deserve…"

And lunges at Cress. 

Cress understands what this means, and takes out his sword to protect himself as opposed to uttering the final word. 

"I will not kill you."

"Oh you better if you want you and Mibaru to live."

"I will _not_ kill you."

"Try me."

**< 3**

There’s a man with a spear (stay away) who’s looking for a group of sinners (maybe -) saying it’s _his_ job to eradicate them (okay, stay away) and no one else’s (get out of town).

And of course, as the village’s protector after Mibaru disappeared, Cress approaches him.

“So you’re here to deal with them, has it really spread that far?”

The man says nothing.

Cress bows his head in shame, “Really, it’s a terrible secret we’ve been hiding, there’s no reason to have done so, but not many -”

He gets shoved aside. The man says nothing, just a series of grunts as he walks forward, before he turns his head, most likely hearing the footsteps of Cress following behind.

“I don’t need anyone else.”

“You don’t even know where he is,” Cress responds.

“I’ll find him.”

Taking a deep breath, Cress turns around and walks to the one place he knows he can find Cody - the church basement.

How funny is it that it’s the meeting place of Cody?

**< 3**

Once Cress is surrounded, he drops his sword. Hands in the air, sword clanking continuously until his foot stomps it. And one word is uttered from Cress’ mouth, to which Cody laughs at.

“Kanata? He knows nothing, just that Misella has finally found a home, and that he is to take over the business. Now, shall I to do you as I have done to your pitiful master?”

Cress grimmances. All he knew about Master Mibaru was that he had gotten hurt and disappeared, around the same time as a monster in the forest appeared. A monster that harmed the town and that Kanata wanted to get rid of, because it made everything just all the more troubling… 

Technically, there was no way of knowing that Cody had anything to do with this, but Cress should’ve known. 

“And you call yourself a father.”

The world went to black.

**< 3**

Misella stands there, trying to figure out how to get Kanata to understand what she meant by her wanting to be with Kanata forever, when the door opens on her and Kanata, something she was promised wasn’t going to happen. 

Although, “door opens” isn’t the… Exact wording she should’ve used to describe what had happened. Instead the door was poked through with a spear and kicked down, leaving Misella and Kanata to brace themselves with the various things in his room, and Misella praying to Kasque that it wasn’t one of Cody’s men coming for her.

“Where’s the sinner?”

It is not one of Cody’s men.

“What do you mean sinner? This town’s sin free!” Kanata responds. The innocence only makes Misella wince (poor girl) as she wishes (she can’t) she could protect that aspect of Kanata forever (the boy had to grow up.)

The intruder tilts his head, the so-faded white that its almost grey hair fluttering to the left. “This town isn’t free, far from it.”

And he left, just like that.

“What was his deal, calling us sinners? We’re the complete opposite of sinners! Everyone in this town is so wonderfully kind they’re honored to call me and my dad their friends!” Kanata says, Misella once again being reminded of her wish.

Of her want.

“Kanata, that’s not true.”

He tilts his head, hair falling to the right. “Misella?”

“Kanata… I’m being sold.”

“Sold?” His voice cracks. Most likely, he couldn’t believe it. “No, that’s not how adoption works… Misella you aren’t confusing that with adoption, right?” He’s in the stages of grief - this part, denial.

Misella can only shake her head. “I’m being dressed up and sold.”

“But who -”

And all the breath he had exits his body as he most likely realized the only one who could possibly do that to Misella. So he got up and threw on clothes that weren’t for sleep and told Misela he was going to talk to Cody.

Misella lingers, looking for anything that would give her the desired solution.

That man didn’t deserve being talked to.

He deserved to be burnt to a crisp and have his ashes be carried away by the wind, so his destruction could, at the very least, breed beauty.

That was the only way she would allow him to end.

**Author's Note:**

> And sorry for that ending! But I wanted the next fic to pick up and needed this fic for set up, so we'll get to all those loose threads next time!! Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
